Last Saturday’s Halloween Craftacular at the Whitefield Library was a huge success, with around 30 children in 3 hours there was a ton of fun and crafts made! The popular flickering lanterns kids could choose from making a ghost, a jack-o-lantern, or a witch. Using tissue paper and glue, kids covered tiny glass jars and choose faces to complete the look. After we installed the little tealight kids where excited to see there ghoulish creations aglow. At our cut paper station kids could choose to make a real hanging bat using a black paper towel tube, or witches riding brooms, ghosts or monsters. We had a beautiful day to share some snacks, and crafts and run around with our friends at the Whitefield Library.
I have so many fond memories of being young at Halloween, and perhaps that is why it is my favorite holiday. The community I grew up in was big on Halloween too. Our K-8 school paraded through town in costume, accompanied by the schools band. Marching band I suppose, but I don’t believe they marched for any other reason than the Halloween Parade. Our local YWCA hosted a costume party with a haunted hallway, that terrified me for years and prevented me from attending the party on the other side, when I was old enough to pass through there was a costume contest where I won a prize for… creativity? or authenticity?… I was a Geisha. I was seven or eight. We weren’t very savvy about cultural appropriation in 1993.
Beyond Trick-or-Treating, which was the good old fashioned trust your neighbors kind, there was the Library Spooky Reading! This was extra special for me because our children’s librarian was my Mother, so I had a hand in decorating and it felt like I had the inside scoop. Families would arrive, children in costume to attend an after hours storytime in the large library hall. My Mother, dressed to the nines as countess Dracula, or Frankenstein’s wife, or a haggard witch, always just as stunning as she was spooky would greet everyone in full character. Little kids a bit excited but nerves because this was not exactly the storytime lady they all knew. Our storytellers where always local folks we knew and loved but dressed in costume. The very friendly local pediatrician loomed over us all but we but were excited to see him dressed a demented Doctor as he read to us silly poems by Shel Silverstien. Each familiar person did an excellent job reading us short, sweet and spooky stories with all of the bravado of your classic community theater. It was always a night to remember.
It is my greatest joy now that I have the opportunity to spark this kind of community love. I grew up in a small town library and it’s clear to me that is where I belong. I am so proud to be apart of the Whitefield Library. Stay tuned as we add new books, and provide new programming for you and your little ones! Please mark your calendars for Saturday December 10th when we will be throwing a Winter Crafty Party.